Erosion
by Oparu
Summary: Regina defeats a basilisk with Emma but that leads into a much more difficult fight with Maleficent and Robin, and uncovers some emotions they all need to discuss. (DragonOutlawQueen, OT3, polyamory, their first big fight and reconciliation, part angst, part healing, part sex). bottomless sea 'verse pt 9
1. Chapter 1

"Regina?" Mal's voice carries into the laundry room. "What are you doing?"

"I tore my jacket," she calls back. "Just wanted to repair it." Regina runs her hand through her hair, shaking off the sweat. Her leather jacket lies on the washing machine. The left arm is stiff with dried blood. She can repair it with magic, but it won't be the same. It's her blood at least, not the toxic blood of the creature.

It was some kind of basilisk: long claws, snarling jaws. She and Emma defeated it easily enough, but Regina's sore from the tree she hit and bruised from the ground. There's dirt clinging to the sweat on her skin and Emma had to heal the nasty claw marks on her arm.

"How did you tear your jacket in a way that smells like blood?"

Mal leans on the doorframe, one hand resting on her belly and Regina can't drag her eyes from it. Her grey dress hugs her body, just a little tight where the baby's changed her belly, curving her outward. There's something profoundly beautiful about that, how she's different now. Regina's never watched this happen up close. Snow's pregnancies were less intimate.

She thought of that little person, the life beneath Mal's skin, when Emma asked if they should call for backup. How she'd be in danger if Regina mentioned the basilisk and brought them out. They'd come, of course, because they love her and want to protect the town, but they would have been in harm's way.

Emma almost wasn't fast enough. The creature lashed out, wounding her, throwing Emma back, and it could have gone badly in a heartbeat.

It didn't; she's fine. They might not have been. She pictures Robin bleeding or Mal knocked back and her stomach twists into a knot. They're safe here. They had an evening in together, watching some film.

Robin enters the doorway behind Mal, wrapping his arm around her waist and adding his hand to her belly. "You're missing the whales."

"Whales?" Regina asks, hoping the subject change takes hold. "What are you watching?"

"Planet Earth," Robin says. Mal's stiffness and concern carries into him as easily as if she'd spoken aloud. "Which is far less important than what you were doing."

"It's nothing."

"There's blood on her jacket," Mal says. She gestures at Regina's shirt. "That's a nasty mark."

"It's fine."

Slipping into the laundry room, Mal reaches for Regina's arm and Robin lifts her jacket.

"This is not fine," he starts. "This was sharp, it cut right through leather."

"It was a basilisk," Regina offers, keeping her voice even. "There was no real danger."

Mal's fingers wrap around her arm, testing Emma's healing magic, stroking her bloody shirt. "This was deep."

"Emma's healing has gotten so much better."

"That doesn't mean you should trust it with your life, Regina."

"What made you think you could fight a basilisk without us?" Mal asks, her voice as soft as her touch. "They're poisonous."

"It didn't bite me."

"Did it attack you?"

"No, Emma found its nest."

"So you struck quickly?" Robin continues to dig.

"No-"

"You just didn't think it was worth mentioning that you intended to fight such a creature?" Mal strokes her arm one more time then steps back, folding her arms over her chest. "It is the work of a moment to send one of those text messages. Even Roland can send them, dear."

Regina swallows. Removing her bloody shirt, she tosses it aside. It's never been a favorite, not worth the magic to mend it. Standing in her camisole, she stares at her lovers, her heart racing in her chest. They're angry, and it's written all over their faces.

"We could have helped," Robin adds, his forehead furrowed. "As powerful as you and Emma are, it's important to have backup. Your injuries could have been far worse."

"I'm fine."

"So you decided to tell us after it was over," Mal says, and a chill slips into her tone. "You were going to tell us about your adventures after you hid your jacket and snuck through the house, covered in blood."

"It's just my arm."

"How big of an injury does it need to be to merit reporting?" Robin asks, lifting her jacket and running his fingers over the tear. "Would we have only heard something if Emma contacted us to report you were wounded? You'd never tolerate that behavior from either of us."

"Dear, you are upset when I don't immediately inform you of all the details of being nauseated, or my headaches, neither of which pose any danger to my well-being."

"That's different."

"Oh?" Robin presses. "Why would that be different?"

She takes a step back, because they're both staring. Regina can't look at either of them long, because it hurts. Their loving faces just ache. "That's about the baby. Pregnancy in this body is difficult for you; you might not understand what's happening. I don't want you to worry."

"You don't want me to worry, but aren't I allowed to worry about you? I love you." Mal looks to Robin, reaching for him because he hasn't pulled away. "We love you. If you are in danger that affects us."

"I wasn't in danger."

"Bullshit," Robin snaps.

Mal raises an eyebrow. "The thief is right. A basilisk is an incredibly dangerous creature, you could have been killed."

"And we would have known nothing until Emma told us."

"And what? If I'd told you, both of you would have rushed to my side, and been in danger with me." She shakes her head. Why don't they see how awful that would have been? The basilisk could have hurt Robin, hurt Maleficent and the baby. She could have lost one of them, both of them. She couldn't face that, couldn't handle that kind of pain, even knowing they were hurt-

"That's the idea of a partnership," Robin says, and he starts to pace. He can't go far in the tiny room, but the movement only makes him more agitated. "Trust and communication are essential to a relationship."

"Oh, because they served so well in your marriage to Marian?"

"Regina, that's not fair," Mal interrupts. "You know why Robin and Marian didn't work, and it had nothing to do with him chasing monsters."

"Like you know so much about relationships," she retorts, hating the words as soon as she says them. "Maleficent, you cursed the last person you loved."

"And you cursed a realm," Mal says, tightening her knuckles on her arm. "The past isn't important."

"Isn't it?"

Robin runs a hand through his hair. "If we want this to work we have to be honest with each other. You need to tell us when you're in danger. You need to let us help you."

"You wouldn't have been able to help," Regina mumbles, and of course they hear it.

"Because you know so much about basilisks?" Maleficent asks. She rests her hand on the washer. Is she dizzy again? How can she talk of honesty and then hide these things? She couldn't have fought a basilisk, not in this condition. Why is that so hard for her to understand?

"And you do?"

"It doesn't matter what you were fighting," Robin says, dragging them back. "We need to be united, together."

"We are." Don't they understand that? They're alive. They're safe; that's the best gift she can give them.

Mal pushes off the washer, walking towards her, reaching for her face. "We're not. I love you, and Robin, but this- wonderful as it is- has been- will not work if you are not able to trust us."

"Don't be hasty," Robin says, raising a hand. "Be careful."

"Don't you get it?" Regina snaps, backing away. Her blood rushes in her ears, throbbing in her chest and they don't see. They can't understand. "I buried Daniel. He died because I loved him, and that put him in harm's way. I can't do that again. I can't lose one of you, I couldn't face it, I couldn't go on. I couldn't live with myself-"

"Yes you could-" Robin protests, reaching for her shoulder. "You'd have Henry, Roland, Lily- so many reasons to live."

Mal stands there, watching Robin try to reason with her. A tear slides down her cheek and she nods. "Oh, I understand, dear. Even if you're safe, if you and Robin live long, happy lives, I will watch you die. I will watch the children die. Not Lily, or this-" she stops, struggling to find breath through her grief. "But the boys, the sweet, sweet boys. They're human, you are human. Loving you means losing you, and I face that every day."

She didn't think. The knot in her stomach rises, "Mal, I-"

"It's too much." Mal turns her gaze from Regina to Robin, tears flowing from her eyes. She smiles, and that hurts most of all, because there's hope there, and affection, but she retreats, fading to smoke and then she's gone.

"Regina, where did she?"

"I don't know."

"Will she come back?"

"I. Don't. Know," Regina repeats, turning her wrath on Robin. The cold place in her chest burns, sending agony through her that Robin must understand. "You want to talk to her so badly, find her. Send a text message, I hear they're very easy."

"You don't mean that."

She can't listen to him. Can't even look at him. He would risk himself for her, let Mal risk herself for her, and that's not acceptable. That can't happen. "Don't I? What were you saying about the importance of communication? Let me communicate with you, clearly. I will not tolerate lectures from a thief or a dragon about how to defend the town and who I bring with me to do it. I will not be patronized. I have faced the greatest monstrosities in the realms and survived. No pitiful basilisk will hurt me, and if you can't trust that, you need to leave, before I send you away."

He's only on the verge of tears, but they shine bright in his eyes. "If that's what you want."

"I think it's best."

"Then it is what I shall do." He still looks at her, agony written across his face. Robin gives her a little nod, almost a bow, and turns. Unlike Mal, he pauses, holding the frame. "Regina, I am glad you are all right."

She lets him go in silence, holding herself like a statue until the front door closes and she's alone in an empty house. Regina shivers, trembling from the effort of holding back her tears. Grabbing the laundry soap, she throws it, then the next bottle, and the next, they crash into the wall, echoing dully as they tumble down.

They're gone, and other then her ragged breathing, the house is silent. Still as a fucking tomb.

Only then, she starts to cry.


	2. Chapter 2

"If you're heading into waters that rough, perhaps you shouldn't be sailing alone, mate," Killian says, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Ursula, voice restored, hasn't begun her nightly performance, but judging by the mood in the tavern, it'll be a heart-wrenching one. She always could read a crowd.

He waves down the serving wench, and orders a drink, rum, straight up.

Robin raises an eyebrow but only raises his glass to drink. "I've already hit the rocky shoals."

"Ah but did you run afoul or run aground, they're a bit different." He taps his back, and Robin stares into his glass, as morose as he's seen the man since his wife was frozen. He's cheered up since he discovered divorce, he was so happy just a week ago, with that fuzzy picture of the impending baby. but this dedication to drink means something is wrong in the house of the queen, the thief and the dragon.

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see if the ocean pours in," Robin mutters over his glass.

Killian swirls his, and settles on his stool. Can't leave a friend in this state, and Emma will understand when she arrives. She's remarkable that way. "Perhaps if you spoke of the reef, you'd feel a bit better."

"Regina was hurt." Robin waves the bar wench over. "Just leave the bottle, please."

She flicks her eyes to Killian, who nods, because he will see Robin home, or to a sofa, if that's the way it needs to be. Depends on how deep this rift goes and how long it'll take to mend it.

That he remembers, the basilisk lashing out too quickly for Emma to get out of the way, Regina shoving her back. Her arm bled freely, and the poison didn't take, which was fortunate. Emma healed her. She's become quite good at that. He doesn't see a reason to worry, but patience may provide one.

"The wound was no scratch, but Emma healed it. Regina went home whole."

"And lied," Robin says, topping off his glass. "Hid the bloody jacket in the laundry room until she could fix it and never tell either of us about it."

That Killian understands, knows that familiar, freezing-water grasp at his heart. Emma also tries to protect him, keep him from danger, but they'd come to terms with that, at least a little. "So you caught her?"

"Maleficent smelled the blood." Robin finishes another gulp of whiskey and turns his head. "How do you do it?"

"Never been able to smell blood," Killian teases. "Would be bloody useful if I could."

"How do you handle being with Emma?" Robin asks with the directness of drink. "Doesn't she want to keep you away, to protect your fragile, all-too-human self?"

"Course she does," he agrees, patting Robin's shoulder, because he needs the contact, and a smile, and some more whiskey, but nothing about dating anyone with magic is easy. Two someones must be a special kind of hell.

"What do you do?"

"Insist on being taken along on most things, because no matter what she says-"

"She needs the backup," Robin finishes for him. He starts to pour with unsteady hands and Killian takes over, rather than waste the whiskey.

"Sometimes she does." He waves down the bar wench for some water, because if he doesn't get more of that into Robin, he'll be truly adrift in the morning. "Sometimes she doesn't. Magic is a complicated thing. It's difficult when most of what threatens this constantly endangered little town needs magic to overcome."

Across the tavern, Ursula and the piano begin to warm up and the mood shifts to expectant. Ursula's voice, even when it's a few sparse notes, tugs at all of their hearts. He almost wants to signal her, to ask for something lively, but Robin needs the ache tonight.

Emma kisses his cheek, surprising him as she takes the stool beside him. "Hey."

"Hey," he replies, smiling at her. Robin nods to her, vaguely, and Killian pours him a little more whiskey.

"What's wrong?" Emma whispers, leaning close to his ear. "Trouble in the mansion?"

"Regina wasn't honest about the basilisk and her injury," he replies, wondering if Emma would lie to him in a similar fashion. She's less protective than Regina, at least, when it comes to him, because they've reached an accord. Emma is far gentler than Regina, and he isn't carrying a child. Hell, part of him almost agrees with the former evil queen. Maleficent is in a delicate state, and she should be out kept in safe harbor until she feels more steady. Carrying a child is no easy journey.

"It was easy to heal," Emma promises, but that is only the surface of the wound. The real maelstrom spins beneath, dulled by alcohol for the moment, but it'll return, and he doesn't envy Robin for what he'll need to work through.

"That's beside the point." Robin sets down his glass, lifting the water. He downs all of that and wipes the back of his hand. "Maleficent or I might have been helpful fighting the creature, and even if she wanted to protect Maleficent-"

Emma nods to that. "It's taken a lot out of her."

"It has, and I've been with her as much as I can, I know Maleficent's exhausted, but we love Regina, and both of us would do anything to support her," Robin finishes as Ursula begins to sing.

The soft, bittersweet sting of her voice vibrates through his chest and he has to look at her, just as the rest of the tavern does. Emma's hand slips into his good one, and he turns to her. Staring at Emma, losing himself in her bright green eyes, he wonders how he would feel, knowing she wanted to risk herself, and their potential child, to protect him. He couldn't stop her, he can never stop Emma from doing anything, no matter the risk, but she would tell him of the danger even as she tried to keep him away.

"It's still new," Emma insists, ever the optimist. "You're all still adapting."

Not all courses can be salvaged, but he holds that thought to himself, because Robin needs more gentleness than truth.

"Doesn't seem we're off to a very good start," Robin argues. He stares at his glass, then looks past Emma at Ursula, maybe he's starting to lose himself in her song. It can help. "Sometimes it seems I'm the one who has to keep bending, shifting, trying to make it work."

"They've known each other longer?" Emma asks.

"Many years in the old world." Robin fidgets with one of the napkins, crumpling it in his hand. He tosses it to the floor, then turns his attention back to drink. "Regina broke her heart and left Maleficent pregnant with Lily before falling into darkness and revenge. I can't even begin to imagine what that kind of baggage must mean to both of them, but we haven't discussed that in depth either. Seems like we barely have the time to breathe before there's another threat, some magical creature, a sorcerer, or a plague of chicken fever."

Emma smirks. She always does when someone gets the name of that spotted chicken disease wrong. Swallowing her smile, Emma asks for a glass and joins in the drink. "Every relationship in Storybrooke suffers from that problem. Yours is just a little more complicated."

Robin lets that optimism slide over him, preferring the sharpness of more whiskey. "Only a little? One of them is the mistress of all evil and the other is the evil queen, how does a mere mortal compare with that? My greatest moments are holding my son, protecting villagers in the woods. Regina's saved Storybrooke, saved us all, and Maleficent has lived so long before me and will live so long afterwards that the sum of our relationship is a passing moment for her."

"Moments can hold great importance," Killian interrupts.

Nodding vigorously, Emma agrees. "You live in the moment too, what does it matter if hers is longer?"

Robin grabs the beer mat and begins to destroy that, folding it over and over until it parts, becoming soggy cardboard pieces that fall to the bar. "If she pulls away, takes a step back, there's nothing I can do to stop her. I don't even know if I could make an argument as to why she should stay."

"Surely you want to be together?" Killian asks, looking from the mess to Robin. "Perhaps that's enough. Don't sell yourself short. They're both very fond of you. I know what love looks like on the face of someone who has trouble speaking of it."

Emma beams at him, but doesn't kiss him. Robin needs their attention now. He's so rarely in this position, caring for someone's battered heart, that it's an unchartered voyage, but Robin has his kinship, as does Regina, and the dragon. Henry is their center, and all of them radiate outward from him, a motley crew to be sure, but a family nonetheless.

Regina, Robin and Maleficent are part of that family, as is the unruly little flame. Emma presses her lips together and nods to him. They're not letting Robin give up, because this evening is merely another storm to be weathered, and they can guide him through.

She had, of course, never seen a real dragon, not in the old world anyway. Here in Storybrooke, over the strange huge houses and the hard streets, she's seen glimpses of Maleficent and Lily soaring. Watched their shadows over the sea, heard their landings through in the trees but never been close to one.

Now she stands in reach of the beast's tail. She could be knocked aside, burnt alive, pounced upon and all of the other horrors she's heard of dragons.

Marian tries not to run from horrors. Robin used to say too often she ran in the wrong direction, closer to danger, but he is not her love, Nor her husband after that piece of parchment ended their marriage. This dragon is no lurking monster from the fairytales, but a woman underneath, or perhaps sometimes. It's never been explained to her, really. Maleficent and Lily are dragons, and human both, but perhaps one is more comfortable.

Lily still fears her other form sometimes. She's spoken of it. Her human body is the one where she feels safest, even though the other calls to her. Years can make something familiar, but not make it right. Lily struggles for a balance between her sides, dragon and human, but not her mother.

Perhaps that is how Marian is certain this is Maleficent, not Lily, sitting in the woods near the woodland. Many of the newer arrivals in Storybrooke still prefer the forest to the town and it's strange streets and never ending brightness. She's gone soft and likes the warmth of an apartment and running water, yet there are enough more comfortable here that the village is a bustling place.

Little John was concerned about a dragon when he sent for her. He tried Robin, but for once, he isn't answering his phone. Considering that he closed down Ursula's with Emma and the pirate last night, he probably has good reason. There could be a problem, but Marian doubts Maleficent would be here, alone by the river if there was a crisis.

Even her flank towers over Marian, easily as tall as a horse, even lying down.

"Maleficent?" Marian calls, making herself known as one does with a skittish horse. She reaches out, stroking the glimmering purple-black scales before it occurs to her that she should ask. "It's all right," she says, again, falling back into what she knows, which is how to talk to horses. Not dragons. Perhaps dragons resent being treated as lesser beings. Do they even see horses as less?

They might, because they probably eat them.

Maleficent lifts her head and the creature moving shifts the earth, makes the trees sigh and then she's eye-to-eye with a dragon. Maleficent's eyes glow bright green and cut through her, bright and full of so much magic that they pulse, livid. She stares, like the mouse caught before an asp. There's something enrapturing about such power, even though her teeth could rip Marian to shreds and her horns rise over her like those of a demon.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Maleficent bobs her head once, some kind of nod. Perhaps acceptance of Marian's presence. Steam rises from her snout, is her nose that warm? Her scales are warm, but not enough to hurt Marian's hand. Staring at the steam, she tries to determine what it is, then the dragon sniffs.

She's been crying. Her tears steam on her snout, and like a human, she tries to sniff them away.

Marian holds up her hand, reaching for the head half the size of her body. "Are you all right?"

Another nod, this one slower, almost tentative, and one of those glowing green eyes studies Marian before Maleficent pulls back her head and rests it on her forelegs. Now she looks like a sulky barn cat, avoiding Marian's eyes.

"Did you spend the night out here?"

Did they fight? Is that why Robin didn't answer his phone?

That question too goes unanswered, and the dragon shuts her eyes, hiding that glowing green behind her eyelids. She can't be sleeping, though perhaps that terrible pregnancy exhaustion carries through, even in dragon form. Marian remembers that well.

"Does Lily know where you are? Does she know you're all right?"

Maleficent rolls her huge eyes, and lifts her head, and her sigh echoes in her huge chest. It's almost human, but magnified. Something shifts, and the air crackles, and her dragon form dissolves into grey mist. This is the transformation she's heard so much about. Lily saves it's like unmaking yourself, your essence shifting around until you're the other you. She's never seen it before, keep missing Lily and Maleficent being dragons and hearing it second hand from Roland.

The air thickens, and her ears pop from the rushing. Magic hangs around her deep and heavy, like pitch, and the mist shrinks down to the size of a person, holding there, swirling, almost struggling to come into form.

Her blonde hair hangs loose, the curls almost gone and her eyes are reddened, and bright with tears. Maleficent sways so slightly that Marian wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't reached for the tree. That steadies her, and she turns her gaze reluctantly to Marian.

"Is Lily worried?"

"She won't be now," Marian promises, taking out her little phone device. She carefully taps the buttons that spell out a message to Lily. "You could have told her where you were."

"I wasn't thinking."

Maleficent still hasn't moved, and her hand remains firm on the tree. Her grey dress clings to her figure, and the swell of her impending child. Her thick black sweater almost hides that curve when she pulls it tighter, but even with her height the baby's (the one Roland will not stop referring to as his) making her presence known. She must be several months in now. Marian was mercifully past her nausea then, but Maleficent is still pale, as if strung tight.

"Have you eaten?"

Maleficent nods, echoing her other self: silent and aloof, though her eyes stay with Marian's.

"Today?" Predators eat less often, she's seen that in wolves, and that might work as a dragon, but certainly won't help Maleficent's nausea in human form. Holding out the tin of biscuits in front of her, Marian takes a step forward. "I have these for you, Granny made them. They're ginger, they'll help."

"Why would the wolf make them for me?" Releasing the tree, Maleficent takes a step towards her and relief flashes over her face when her feet are steady. She shouldn't be out here, in the cold trees and the mist. Regina is too careless, letting whatever happened drive her out like this. Robin would have never-

Marian stops that thought. Robin did leave her alone. Whatever happened split the three of them, and whatever she feels, it must have been difficult. She still doesn't know what it means to her to have all of them together, the formerly Evil Queen, her former husband and a dragon, but she hates suffering.

Their hands touch only briefly, and her fingers are so warm that Marian startles.

"I didn't realize you were so warm."

"The baby makes it more intense." Maleficent holds the tin, turning it before she opens it. She stares at the biscuits and takes one, holding it delicately.

"Little flame," Marian says. "That's what Lily called her. I didn't realize it was literal." She takes the tin back so Maleficent can at least eat the biscuit. That might help. Up close, she's so pale and Marian remembers how sick she was while Roland had the chicken disease.

The look on Lily's face sticks with her, because she remembers that helplessness in Robin. She was dying then, slipping away, and this, this is just a rough pregnancy. But Lily is Maleficent's daughter, and that makes it hard to watch, even if there's no danger.

Maleficent finally smiles wearily, with the biscuit in her mouth. She chews slowly, almost tentative; perhaps with her other teeth, she doesn't chew.

Marian's phone vibrates in her pocket, making that chirping noise. The message carries Lily's relief, and that solidifies her thought.

"Where are you sleeping? Out here?"

Maleficent shakes her head, again almost painfully slow. Perhaps her head hurts. Lily mentioned that her headaches hadn't gotten any better and Marian's heart aches for both of them.

"In some cave? No, you will come home with me. Robland would love to have you, and there's a sofa, and you'll be out of the damp-"

"Are you going to insist it's not good for the baby?" Maleficent asks, swallowing the biscuit.

She accepts another, and maybe if Marian can just get her fed and warm, color will come back into her face. Though she's not cold, because her hand burns against Marian's when she reaches for her.

"It's not good for you."

Maleficent stares at her, studying her in a way deeper than a predator and prey, deeper than human. Her eyes don't glow in this body, but they're close. "Why do you care what happens to me?"

The easy explanation is that Roland adores his dragons, sister and step-mother both, and that Lily, who is the closest Marian has to a friend, loves her mother fiercely. Yet, in the bottom of Marian's stomach, this echoes selfish.

"I nearly died when I was pregnant with Roland."

"Robin saved you." Maleficent stands so still, tall and fragile, like a shivering willow.

"Robin saved me then, Emma saved me from death in the other world, and then Regina saved me from the Snow Queen's curse." She takes a step forward, offering her hand. "Maybe it's time I save someone."

Maleficent tilts her head, and Marian pictures the dragon making the same motion.

"Come on," she adds, staring up at the trees and the darkening sky beyond. "You must hate the rain on your scales."

"It tickles." Maleficent's hand takes hers, and that smile looks so much like Lily.

"If you really must be tickled, I'm sure Roland would oblige you." Looking up at her, Marian insists. "Come home with me. Lily will feel better and the Merry Man will be able to hunt better if you haven't scared all of their deer, or eaten them."

That answering smile is the predator, yet Marian has no fear.

"I only ate one," Maleficent promises.


	3. Chapter 3

The only reason she's holding it together, at all, is Marian and a text message. That in itself is bullshit, because this isn't her fight. Except, maybe it is, because these are her parents, this is her family, and if they're going to be ridiculous, she can't hide from it. Lily sighs, shakes her hair out and tugs it back into a ponytail. She has work in an hour and whoever's at her door isn't going to be done quickly because she's paid rent, so it's not that. It's not like she has friends, so this will be family.

And she hasn't figured out her family yet.

Regina flexes her hands as Lily opens the door, as if she's expecting a fight already. She fucking deserves one, but that's not Lily's place.

"What?" Lily asks, folding her arms.

Regina lets the pleasantries go as easily as Lily did. "Is she here?"

Asking shouldn't make her happy, but it does. "Who?"

Regina's eyes could cut steel plate. "Maleficent."

Lily leaves the door open and walks away because her neighbours don't need to hear this. "Nope."

Regina follows her in, of course she does. Never could leave anything alone, including Lily, but whatever. Lily is fine. Mom's the one who can't stop crying, who's sleeping on Marian's couch. Which is a huge step up from the woods, because she can't just sit in the woods and sulk. Apparently, she thinks she can, but that's thinking with the wrong brain and the little sister doesn't like the dragon body.

At least, that's what Mom thought last week. Maybe it's different now, maybe whatever Regina's done has changed things.

She tries to save a little hatred for Robin, because he's in this too, even if he is nice. He's not with Mom, which means that maybe the soulmate thing won out, or some other kind of bullshit. Regina probably has an explanation, and Lily will listen, if only because then she can really let her have it.

It's better to know things before you yell. Lily learned that from her useless adoptive parents.

"Do you know where she is?"

Lily puts her hands on her hips, mirroring Regina's posture, so she has to change the way she stands. She crosses her arms over her chest. "Yes."

"And you're not going to tell me."

"She has a phone."

"That she didn't take with her," Regina says, and it's not just anger in her voice. She pulls the little phone out of her pocket and holds it up. Mom didn't want anything complicated, this world is difficult enough for her most of the time. Regina shifts her weight, looking around Lily's tiny apartment before she looks at her. "Is she all right?"

"No."

"No?" Regina repeats, and her eyes grow wide. "What happened?"

"What? No, I mean, physically, yeah, sure." She hasn't seen her mother and she can't even trust herself not to lose it at her, because she let this happen. She knows Regina, and she got swept up in this thinking it would be okay, and of course it's not. People don't change, and that includes Regina.

Regina's relief softens her entire body and Lily hates it. Hates her. Hates how she towers over her human mother even when she's in heels, hates how she can't hide her concern. If they're going to break up, Regina could at least be a bitch about it.

"I thought the stress-"

"Because she was so fine before, when she wasn't stressed?" Lily shudders and turns away because she can't fucking look at her. She just can't. "Do you know how sick you've made her?"

"I have a good idea."

"Yeah?"

"I do live with her," Regina says.

Lily turns back from the window. "Like you're ever home. I see Robin more than I see you. Maybe you should ask Roland and Henry how Mom is. They see her all the time."

Regina's voice finally gets that edge to it. "They're like her children."

"Because you make her watch them?"

"We don't make her watch them."

"How much free babysitting have you gotten out of this arrangement?"

"Now you're just being unreasonable."

"I'm unreasonable?" Lily shakes her head and advances on her mother. Fuck the high heels and the 'I'm the Mayor' tone. "You fuck Mom the first night she's back from the dead, get her pregnant, and then your boyfriend comes back, so whatever, you'll be with him because he finally fucking figured out about divorce. She thinks she'll just watch you with him and deal with this on her own, and you, you think it's some brilliant idea that the three of you move in together, and you say things, you talk about love-"

Regina's voice cuts through, low and vicious. "I love her."

"Bullshit."

"Because love is something you understand so well?"

That hits, and stings. "Maybe I would if you hadn't ruined my life."

"Me?" Regina shakes her head. "Oh no, try Snow White."

This Regina Lily understands, this one is just as pissed as Lily is.

"I can comfortably hate Snow White, she's not my mother."

Regina takes a step towards her, and it doesn't bother her that she has to look up. "I thought you were perfectly comfortable hating, after all, that darkness from Emma has to be good for something."

Lily tilts her head, and her dragon rises within her. "You think Emma's darkness means anything? I'm the daughter of the Evil Queen. You created me when you were so dark that the Mistress of all Evil retreated from you. Mom thought there was still light in you, but you hurt her and you just keep hurting her. I should have known you'd be all fucked up together, even here. You're my mothers, how could something like me come from anything less than a colossal mess?"

"Lily-"

She points at the door. "Just get out. I won't tell you where she is, go badger Robin, or cry to Snow White about how awful your dragon-spawn is and how right she was to send such a monster away."

Regina's not moving and she should be. "You're not a monster."

Lily raises her hand and studies it, calling up the magic and burns beneath her skin. Her hand shifts, just a little. If she went full dragon she'd destroy her apartment, but a hint of it, the promise of falling into that skin makes the anger so much less painful. "Aren't I?"

"You haven't hurt anyone, not like me." Regina takes a breath, and suddenly she's small, vulnerable, and looming over her just makes Lily feel empty, because Regina's eyes are so familiar and so soft. "I killed hundreds of people. That's being a monster. Killing my own father to cast a curse-" her voice breaks. "She told me not to. Begged me."

"Mom?"

Regina nods, and fuck she's crying. What is it with her mothers that both of them cry at the drop of a hat? Lily never cries.

"Maleficent told me the curse would make a hole I'd never be able to fill, and she was right. She fought me to stop me, with you in her belly, and I never knew about you. Never knew that I already had a child when I sat through decades of emptiness here before Henry came, and even then-" Regina pauses, taking a breath just so she can keep talking because her voice cracks. "I had to forget, everything before I could love him. What kind of mother has to do that for her child?"

A good one does that, but Lily won't say it. She's had her other mom here enough that she has tissues on the counter and she holds up the box.

"You're a good mom to Henry, and Roland," Lily says. She watches Regina dab her eyes and sighs. "And me."

"I'm not."

"Well, I'm a shitty excuse for a child."

"You are not, not at all," Regina insists. She reaches for Lily, and her hand connects. Lily flinches, because people who touch her want to hurt her. (except Mom, and Henry, Roland, Robin, and yeah Regina, but her body doesn't know that.) "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do it."

Regina lifts up her hand again and lets it hover before she reaches for Lily's shoulder instead. "I know what it's like."

"Yeah?"

"You think everyone who touches you is going to hurt you, even when they're not. Even when that was so many years ago that you don't even remember."

Regina flinches too. Lily's seen it. Mom's talked about it. Her mom, Cora, was pretty fucked up, and then there was Leopold (and of course fucking Snow White's father is some kind of Game of Thrones level barely legal pedophile).

"I know you might not believe me, or want to, but I love your mother."

Lily reaches for one of the damn tissues because her eyes sting, and she's not crying, not about this. Mom's ridiculous relationships are her own business and Lily's not getting pulled in.

"And we're not breaking up, at least, I'm trying not to. I did something stupid-"

"You got hurt."

"It's nothing."

That look Lily knows. She's seen it in a mirror. "You think it doesn't matter when you get hurt."

"Better me then-" Regina stops. "I'm not being unreasonable. She's pregnant, and it makes her sick. You were just-"

"There's a difference between sick and incapacitated," Lily says, and those are Maleficent's words and she can almost see Mom smile because she used them. "Even nauseated as fuck, she can still stop a basilisk, or help you. You know that, right? And Robin, he's not pregnant."

Regina shuffles her feet and toys with the wet tissue crumpled in her hands. "He's human."

"So are you." That rumbles with the dragon Lily didn't even realize was still listening.

"I think you'll find I'm a little tougher than the average," Regina says with a sad little smile. "Magic changes a person, and the more they use it-"

Lily nods. She's felt that change in Emma. She's different now, more whole with her magic.

"He's still your soulmate."

"Is that what she's upset about?" Regina turns to neatly toss the tissue away and takes another. "Because Robin is my soulmate?"

"No, she doesn't care about that." Lily says that too quickly. She doesn't know if Mom feels anything about pixie dust and destiny. She must. It can't be easy to know that two-thirds of your relationship is destined to be together and you're just there because you got knocked up.

"Then what?"

"What do you think?" Lily balls up her hands and forces them to relax. "She doesn't want to watch you die."

"Watch me die? Really? She thinks a fucking basilisk-?"

"You won't die because something's better than you, you'll die because you don't think you're worth protecting."

"Were you not paying attention earlier?" Regina stuffs her hands into the pockets of her very fashionable coat. "I'm a monster."

"And Mom loves you. I'm a fuck up full of twice as much darkness, and she loves me. Robin probably loves me. Our family's way too fucking good for us, and it sucks, it's awkward, but we have to deal with it."

Regina sighs, and looks at her as if she finally understands, her dark eyes soft and bright. "That's how you see it?"

"Cricket guy says I have to trust those around me until I trust myself. I love Mom, and Roland, Henry, Robin, and you, Mom. You're all good people, and for some reason you love me. I must not totally suck."

Regina suddenly has two hands on Lily's shoulders and she didn't even have time to flinch. "I love you."

"And I love you, Mom." Saying it makes Regina tear up again but Lily kind of likes it this time. "So does Maleficent, and Robin, so maybe you want to listen to them for awhile. Or maybe all of you need to go see the Cricket guy. He's pretty smart. I don't hate him. That's pretty high praise for a shrink from me."

Regina starts to pull back, but no, Lily's going to fucking hug her, because she's a fuck up, and her mom, and so much more like her than patient dragon mom who doesn't fucking swear or get all unreasonable. Regina, like Lily, is stiff for a moment, then she's so close, so small and she trembles.

"You can fix it," Lily whispers. "She just wants to know that she won't lose you for awhile. Like fifty years, which sounds kind of greedy-"

Regina looks up at her and touches her chin. "Not greedy at all."

"The tower's too tall," Roland complains. "It's wobbly."

He's just picked that word up this afternoon from Marian, and Mal's half-surprised he isn't using the rest of the synonyms she's used. 'Woozy', being her personal favorite. Such an odd word, that it almost matches the strange sensation that's stalking her.

"You need to add more to the base," she says. She can't see much of his legos, but they're easily organized with magic. Lifting some of the rectangular bricks into the air with magic, she floats them over to him. "Here."

He reaches up and takes a few, then smiles at her. "You're cheating."

"Magic isn't cheating." Shutting her eyes for a moment does feel like some kind of unfair advantage. Marian insists she let herself get dehydrated (Louise has used the same word, but Mal still isn't sure what exactly it means, other than it preceding before forced to drink more water), because she didn't take into account that the baby's more human, and wasn't ready to handle a few days as a dragon and the slower rate of eating and drinking that involved.

Being lightheaded is one of the new symptoms, but it's far better than nausea, which has finally started to soften, only six weeks later than it was apparently meant to. Time is always different for her. Perhaps the little flame is the same way and not concerned in the slightest that morning sickness is meant to fade as the months pass. It has softened, become manageable in a way it simply wasn't a month ago.

No one else appreciates that and she hasn't been able to communicate it in a way that stops that furrow of Regina's forehead, or makes Robin kiss her any less tenderly. Even Lily fusses, and Marian has her own way of making sure she's all right.

Still, no amount of insisting she take better care of herself or ginger cookies can make her head come down from the fog has taken refuge in, so she doesn't move when the knocking interrupts Marian's discussion of Roland's tower.

Roland runs for it, Marian just behind him, and Maleficent allows herself a moment of rubbing her temples, which does nothing to calm it, but it's something. Her stomach or something lower, flutters, and that just makes her head all the stranger.

That voice, she recognizes immediately, headache or no.

"I just want to talk to her."

"And see my castle?"

"I always want to see your castles," Regina says. "But I need to talk to Mal a little bit first, okay?'

"Her head is wooz-bly," Roland whispers. "You have to be gentle."

"I promise to be gentle."

Maleficent sighs, and folds her hands on her belly. In the pyjamas that she's conjured up, the baby's a firm place beneath the silk and her skin. She's high today, near her navel, close to that trapped sort of fluttering. That can't be her, can it?

"This is one of the more interesting places you've hidden," Regina says, removing her coat and setting it gently on the back of Marian's sofa. Without the wool, she's small, and soft in her purple sweater. Perhaps that's why she removed it.

"Marian was concerned that I was ruining the hunting for the Merry Man and the forest camp," Mal says, smiling wearily up at Regina. "I can't do that here."

"Seems you're not very intimidating for anything that's not a deer at the moment." Regina sinks down beside her and touches her forehead, already starting to hover. "Your fever isn't bad, at least, not for you. How's your stomach?"

"Fluttery," Mal complains, shutting her eyes. "But that's not why you're here."

"Come home," Regina says.

"There it is."

Regina rests her hands in her lap. "Please?"

Rolling her head to the side, Mal smiles up at her. "Where I sleep won't change the problem."

"I'm sorry."

"Regina," Mal starts, reaching for her hand. "I'm not angry with you."

"At least you aren't," Regina mutters. She takes her fingers and shrugs. "Lily was."

"You went to Lily?"

"I thought you'd be there."

Mal lifts her head, wanting to look Regina in the eye. The movement sets off a fresh wave of dizziness, but she can control that. She'll be fine, sitting up against the couch is a victory. "With Lily?"

"It's better than returning to the mines I trapped you in."

"Better is a matter of opinion," Mal says. Even sitting up that fluttering continues, not nausea, not her stomach twisting. This is something different, something she doesn't understand, can't quite comprehend. "She's not just angry with you."

"She's very angry about you."

Mal pats Regina's hand. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She's the only reason I came." Regina rocks forward, resting on her knees. "I miss you."

"It's only been a few days."

Regina runs a hand through her hair, then looks away, almost embarrassed. "I can't sleep in our bed without you and Robin."

"He's gone too?"

"I think I'll need you to get him back."

Maleficent studies Regina's face, looking past the self-loathing because she knows the love is underneath. Regina's eyes have always given away much of her secrets. "He's your soulmate."

"He thinks I'll set him aside because you're having our child. He thinks I see him differently because he doesn't have magic. He thinks-

"That you don't love yourself enough to protect yourself from harm."

"I don't love myself enough to risk you-" Regina's gaze drops pointedly to Maleficent's belly, "or him, on my behalf."

"And I imagine Lily informed you how fucking stupid that was?"

"Roland might hear you," Regina hushes.

Mal reaches for her chin. "Marian took him outside."

"Then it's not fucking stupid," Regina corrects, embracing Roland's absent with fervor. "You're pregnant."

"Thank you, I'd nearly forgotten." She rests her hand on her belly, blinks slowly until her eyes adjust to the swimming sparks and the faintness in the periphery of her vision. It's impossible to go more than a moment without some part of this all too human pregnancy demanding her attention, from sore feet to vision that swims with sparkles.

"And you're sick."

"I like to blame you for that."

"I know."

Maleficent reaches for her, drawing Regina closer. "It's not your fault."

"It is. I'm the human one. I'm the one who made it-"

"You gave me Lily and that was an almost pleasant experience." The fluttering increases, and she has to put a hand on it, just to-

It is the baby. She didn't even realize. It has to be the baby, making her presence known in spite of the arguments. Maybe the little flame senses Regina, or the rushing of Mal's own heartbeat has stirred her up.

"What is it?"

How can she argue with her when their baby's finally begun to stir?

"The baby."

"Is she all right? Marian said you were dizzy."

"Yes," Maleficent blows that off. Dizzy doesn't mean anything. It's manageable. The fluttering demands all of her attention. "Regina, stop, just, She's moving."

"Moving?" and that face, that vulnerable, loving little face, could reorder the world.

It has.

Regina turns Maleficent's own around it like a star dragging her into orbit.

"You can feel that?"

"It's very strange."

"But wonderful?"

Maleficent has to nod. She leans forward and kisses Regina's cheek. "I need our daughters to know you. I need Roland to smile at you when he falls in love and Henry to introduce you to his children. Promise me-"

"I can't promise." Regina pulls back, shutting down. "Storybrooke-"

"Will need to be saved, over and over, by you, and Emma Swan." Mal crawls closer to her, reaching for her hair. "You have to let us help, Robin and I."

"I-"

"If you insist on trying to die for me, the least I can do is die for you."

"No," Regina insists, her eyes wide with horror. "No, never."

"I already did once."

"And I had to mourn you," Regina whispers. "I had to walk through the streets, knowing what I'd done, that Emma had to kill you, I can't- I can't do that again, not with you and Robin-"

"Your soulmate."

Regina shakes her head, and takes her hand. "What, destiny picked him so you're just going to run?"

Running is very much out of the potential options, for a myriad of reasons.

Mal tilts her head, trying to let go of the knot of sorrow in her chest. "Shouldn't I?"

"Of course not," Regina rolls her eyes. "I love you, and him, and our children, what my soul is attached to is up to me, not some prophecy. I thought you understood that."

"You could have a good life together," Mal reminds her. "You could be happy."

"And you think removing yourself will make it easier to watch us die?"

Nothing could stop that pain now. Losing either one of them will tear through her heart. She's let them in that deep, and she can't seal that off now. She wouldn't. Life is so much richer for their presence, no matter how bittersweet time will make it.

"I can watch you die at ninety, Regina, don't make me do it now." She takes her hands and kisses them, drawing Regina's essence into her before she brings one to her belly. "I know you want to protect her, and me, but family, has to be reciprocal, has to equitable in love. I would die for you, gladly, and you must allow that, if circumstances occur. You can't protect me from loving you any more than you can protect yourself. Even this child might put herself between you and danger, and it would be her choice."

Regina's thumb strokes her belly. "I hate that she'd make that choice."

"I love that she would," Mal whispers, leaning across to kiss her. "All of us would die for you, with hearts full t bursting. I know you feel unworthy-"

"It is not a feeling, it is the truth," Regina interrupts. "I am-"

"The woman I love, whom Robin loves, who deserves so much affection, patience and love."

Regina shuts her eyes, fighting her tears. She can't argue, though she desperately wishes she had the words.

"I don't believe you."

"Then believe Henry, Roland, Robin and I."

"Have you been speaking to Dr. Hopper too?"

Mal shakes her head, slipping Regina's hand to cover the fluttering of their daughter. "No, but Lily has suggested it. I find his words quite wise."

Regina kisses her with tears on her lips. "Maybe they are."

"I will come home, if only to love you until you see how worthy of that you are."


	4. Chapter 4

Even through the trees, the sun bakes him and lifting the axe over and over just adds to the sweat. The air's thick, even steamy, because it hasn't been blown off to sea and it smells of thunder. Which makes all of this wood all the more important, because tomorrow, after the inevitable storm, it'll be damp, and chopping up this tree will be far more horrible.

Best get it over with. He doesn't have anything else to do. Life without Mal and Regina is quiet, far too empty, and it's only been two days. He'll always have a tent here with the Merry Men, but it's not home. Home is between them, with Regina's cold feet and Mal's warm legs. It's listening to Regina in the shower with Mal's head in his lap, kissing Regina while she worries about something; listening to Henry and Roland talk about video games.

He can't go home yet, not until they work this out. Regina hasn't called, and Maleficent left without her phone, or her clothing. She just vanished. He had been about to look for her, then Marian informed him that she was with her. No details, just that she was all right, and with his former wife.

Perhaps it made sense, leaving him and Regina and ending up with Marian. Maybe it was some sick kind of fate, Marian comforting Maleficent. He'd wondered what they'd talked about all morning, and Little John and Will had both reminded him that love was complicated, that it took patience. (which was something he'd told them both, many times when they'd come to him for advice).

At least today he wasn't hungover, because yesterday that had been nearly as bad as the pain in his heart. The physical did nothing to alleviate the emotion, even made it worse, but the alcohol had helped. In the moment it had buried the pain, quieted the idea that this happy time with the three of them was over. Now in the sunlight, it's harder to shove that away. His life will continue: he'll work with the town, see Regina, watch Maleficent's body change from a distance and if that's what they want, he'll accept it, because Regina has her own honor, and she won't abandon her child. There's too much history, too much guilt over Lily. Fighting to come between them would only hurt everyone.

But he can't let them go. He will, if asked, if he has too, but that slices into him. Tugs at his very soul.

Not only for Regina, for she might be his fate, but perhaps fate has only meant them to be friends. He doesn't finish that cruel thought, because there is some good left in fate.

"Robin?" Regina's voice carries so tentatively that it could splinter like the wood beneath his axe.

Turning, he drops the axe, letting it fall against the log. He doesn't hear the thud because they're standing there, hand in hand. He rushes to them together, sorrow forgotten, along with his good sense. Wrapping his arms around both of them, he draws them close, waiting for them to pull away, but that is not his fate. Regina curls into him, slipping into his arms.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's all right."

Maleficent kisses his forehead, and slips her head in. He nuzzles her cheek, then embraces her, wanting to hug her close. She smells of the forest, of fog and smoke and his chest aches, because she should be somewhere warm and safe, not out here.

"Is it?" Regina asks his chest.

"Eventually," Mal murmurs, taking his hand and bringing it to her belly. He didn't dare, but she missed him and she holds his hand tight against the baby. "She missed you. Keeps fluttering, looking for you."

"Fluttering?"

"She moves," Regina says, adding her hand to his.

He looks from her to Mal, unable to contain his excitement. "Truly?"

Regina nods, and her cool fingers brush his cheek. She smiles, but there's pain in her eyes. She blames herself, as always, for every little thing. Each moment of unpleasantness must surely be traced back to her. He can't lift that burden, but he can ease it. Robin kisses her cheek, reminding her that he will support her, in everything.

"I didn't know what it was," Maleficent confesses, taking a step back so she can look at them both. "Marian had to explain it."

The way she wrinkles her nose makes him want to kiss her all over again. There's something else there, because she sways, only a little, but Regina notices. She's far too vigilant.

"Lily was less intense," Regina explains, dropping her hand from his cheek. She walks them to the log, guiding Mal down so she sits.

He looks at them both, but Mal only frowns at Regina without explanation.

"She's been dizzy."

"I think it's her blood pressure."

"It's fine."

"It's most certainly not fine, Mal. If you're going to lecture me about a scratch-"

Arguing with them could be so normal; they could just slip into this, fight forgotten, falling back into each other's arms again, but it wouldn't be fair. Wouldn't be healthy to miss all of that growth.

He touches Regina's shoulder then crouches down in front of Maleficent, his hands finding her knees. "Have you fainted?"

"No, nothing like that." She reaches for Regina's hand, drawing her in because this is their baby: their responsibility. "Marian called it woozy."

"Wooz-bly," Regina whispers, starting to smile.

"What?"

Wooz-bly?" Mal repeats. Her answering smile only makes Regina start to chuckle.

That does sound like something his son would say. "Roland?"

"He worried."

"Of course he did," Robin says. Regina crouches next to him so that they both look up at Maleficent. "What did Nurse Ratched say?"

"That it's entirely expected," Mal answers, with a pointed look at Regina.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Regina mutters. She stares down, then looks back up. "Wait, you talked to the nurse?"

"I am aware of how to use a phone, dear." Mal looks at them both, and Robin understands first. She strokes strokes her belly and nods to him before she meets Regina's worried eyes. "Pregnancy is a far more intimidating prospect without the two of you."

Regina blinks and her hand tightens on Robin's arm. He wraps his hand around her back, recognizing her concern like a flame.

"You worried?"

"I worry," Mal says, reaching for Regina's face. "More without you."

"You should have called us."

"Yes," Mal agrees easily, nodding and lowering her mouth to Regina's forehead. "Yes, I should have, and I will. I thought, I feared, for a moment that I might have to face this without you and I wanted to see if I could."

"Maleficent-" Robin can't hear that, nor the quaver in her voice. "There will not be a need, even if this, if we- this is our child, and we'll help you, no matter what our relationship is. Whether or not I share your bed, I will be part of the life of this child. Surely you understand that."

She slips from the log, half-falling into his lap. Mal kisses him first, her mouth warm and yielding, drawing his lips into hers. Then she turns to Regina, bringing her close to kiss her just as softly.

"I do now."

"We love you," Regina promises, with all the strength of her heart. "And we do this together. As long as you want us, we're here."

"Together," Robin adds, holding both of their heads. There is so much to say, to clarify, to make work, but the way Regina bites her lip suggests that perhaps it will wait. They'll remain together, they'll work through this as partners. Perhaps this was simply a warning, a reminder that they must work for what they have, take time to be honest with each other and share their fears.

Regina's fingers drag along his arm, dancing across his bare shoulder. She shares a glance with Mal, passing agreement with a smile. Her mouth follows her hand, kissing his bare skin. She smiles up at him, all shyness gone. "Come home."

"Is that an order or invitation?"

Mal raises her eyebrows and Regina laughs.

"Which would you prefer?"

They shift, Regina slipping into his lap as Mal smiles in amusement. He runs his hands along her thighs, tightening on her hips.

"I would be with you both, as long as I am wanted."

Regina tugs Mal closer, then kisses her neck.

"You will always be wanted," Mal promises. She blinks and the forest dissolves, disappearing into smoke to be replaced by their bedroom.

He chuckles, leading Mal to the bed. He sees it now, the furrow of her brow, the way her eyes are slower to focus. Robin does not understand what Regina means about blood pressure, but he knows the dizziness written on Maleficent's face. Marian cared for her well, but this child demands much.

"Sit."

Regina follows, climbing the bed to ease off Mal's sweater. Her hands slip it down gently, freeing her shoulders, then her arms. She's slighter without it, delicate next to Regina. Regina guides her blonde hair behind her shoulders, then toys with her neck. There's still much to say, words that bind them together, fears that must be brought to light, but now he kisses Maleficent's mouth, tracing her lips with his tongue.

She strokes his chin, then tilts her head towards Regina. "I think she missed you."

Regina he kisses more hungrily, and she sighs at his touch, slipping into his mouth. Hands rest on his chest, stroking the tank top he's already dampened with sweat.

"I should shower."

"No," Mal says, shaking her head. "This is you."

"It suits you, I've grown fond of the scent of wood," Regina teases, leaving the bed to strip him off the tank top. She kisses his neck, then his chest, tracing her hands down his sides. She smells of her perfume, subtle and full of temptation. Kissing her, he strokes her breasts through her shirt then lowers his hands to her waist. Lifting her, he walks to the bed and sets her down beside Maleficent.

"Help me with the buttons," he asks, settling himself between Regina's thighs. They strip her of her shirt, then kiss up the smoothness of her stomach. Mal teases her breasts first, taunting the skin with her mouth while Regina gasps. They slip off her bra, and the sound Regina makes as Mal's mouth closes over her nipple sends blood rushing to his cock. His arousal burns, like Maleficent's mouth on his neck.

He reaches for the catch of Regina's trousers, and Mal's nimble fingers find it first. Together they free her, rolling the fabric down her eager hips. Regina eyes him, running her hand down her own bare chest.

"Now he's overdressed, don't you think?" she asks Mal, drawing Mal's hand to her breast as if to illuminate her point.

Mal studies him, her eyes dark with arousal. "That's quickly remedied." A wave of her hand and he stands naked, his aching cock exposed to the air. Both of their eyes drop, watching his arousal swell upwards. His blood follows their eyes, strengthening his desire until it throbs.

Walking towards them both, he stands between them. Mal's hand runs down his chest, then his stomach. Her fingers tease his cock, for once cool in comparison. She traces him, then smirks at Regina.

"Looks like he's ready for you, dear."

He kisses Mal's forehead and she pulls her legs up, slipping back to make room on the bed. Regina catches her and Mal smiles so gently.

"I love you both," Mal reminds her. "Enjoy each other."

Regina kisses her cheek then Mal moves to lean against the headboard, watching them both as she toys with her lower lip. They'll see to her, later, and gently. Regina does not crave the same gentleness. She grabs him, tugging him back towards the bed. He digs his fingers into the soft skin of her hips then lifts her up. Kissing her knee, Robin tugs down her panties. The bright purple drops from his fingers to the floor, and being here, with her, naked, he's home, truly and completely.

"You're not even going to help?" he teases Mal.

"I could," she says, lazily leaning forward. "Should I?"

Regina tilts her head, exposing her neck. "Do I get a say?"

"Do you want one?" Robin kisses his way up her thigh, licking and sucking until she gasps, breathing hard.

"Yes," Regina argues, turning so Mal's lips are close. "Kiss me."

"Yes, dear." Mal complies, kissing Regina with infinite gentleness. They're beautiful together, full of fragile, deeper trust and there's so much emotion between them that it's almost a shame to touch Regina.

Her little gasp says otherwise. Robin strokes her sex, spreading the wetness of her arousal up towards her clit. He lowers his mouth and licks. Regina squirms and Mal holds her.

"Robin-" Regina pants, rubbing his chest with her leg. "Don't tease."

"Don't?" he lifts his mouth and enters her with a finger, lazily, with barely any pressure.

Regina sighs, then gasps as Mal rubs her breast. "I hate you both."

"That's our girl."

"Come here," Regina orders, replacing pleading with iron. "I want you."

They kiss, all hard lips and teeth. Her skin slips against his, already damp with sweat. They tumble, him lifting her, tumbling down and then she's on top, her dark hair falling thick over her shoulders. Regina rocks above him, leaning down to kiss him. He dances his fingers along her thigh, slipping inside again, dipping in then stroking her clit. She's so wet that his body vibrates with the need to be within her, shivering with want.

Regina takes his cock, guiding him in, and together they gasp, united, whole, hearts beating faster as they find a rhythm together. She rocks over his hips, directing the angle, shifting the delightful friction of them together.

Mal's hand slips through his hair, fingertips ghosting across his forehead. She's here, watching them, stroking Regina's stomach, toying with her clit so that together, they work her to a frenzy of sensation. She's warm around him, sweet and giving and just right. Mal kisses her, swallowing one of Regina's moans as they grow more urgent.

"Take her from behind," Mal suggests, tilting Regina's head to kiss her better. "She needs you deeper."

Regina's laugh is half moan, and they scramble, shifting together. He enters her again, deep, hard and fuck- the wet slap of their hips together shatters through him. Mal must be kissing her again because Regina's cries of pleasure are muted, half-swallowed. He slips his hand around, diving between her legs, finding her clit, circling it. He thrust in, rocking against her and his fingers slide wet over her.

Her gasps shudder, and she's close. She tightens around him, starting to fall over the precipice. His body aches, begs for release but he can wait, denying it has a special sort of sting.

Mal slips around them, kissing Regina's back on her way to Robin's mouth. "Make her come," she whispers. "I want to hear her." Her mouth brushes his, barely a kiss at all.

Her hand slips along his chest, and her fingers replace his on Regina's clit, letting him change his grip, find a way to pull Regina closer, tighter. Her orgasm starts within, clenching around him as he pushes her through. Regina cries out, turning his name into a prayer of ecstasy.

Mal meets his eyes, staring him down before she bites his bottom lip. Spilling into Regina, his head spins and their eyes lock. She wanted to watch, to share this with him so intensely that it's almost like she's in his head.

He and Regina collapse to the bed, panting together. Head still reeling with pleasure, he taunts her with his fingers on her damp thigh and she nearly jumps away.

"I missed you," she murmurs. Regina strokes his face then turns to Mal, still dressed and somehow regal as she sits, watching them both. "Now who's overdressed?"

Regina advances on her, predatory and gleaming with sweat in the afternoon sun. Kissing her way up Maleficent's neck, Regina stops, and reaches for her hand. Entwining their fingers together, she pauses, resting their hands on the bed. "We'll be gentle. I know you're dizzy."

Mal lifts their entwined hands to kiss them. "It's much better than the nausea, I promise."

Toying with the skin of her ankle, Robin works his way up, sliding her dress out of the way. "That's finally gotten better?"

Regina stops kissing her so she can answer and for the moment, the flush on Mal's face is healthy.

"I told you it had."

"You threw up at Granny's," Regina reminds her, ever stubborn.

Shifting her hips with a sigh, Mal lets him ease her dress over her head and toss it aside. "It was a demanding day and I forgot to eat lunch."

Reaching for her bra, Regina frowns, then kisses her cheek. "Be careful."

"I am."

He kisses her belly, imagining the child within fluttering about, making her presence known "Perhaps we all need to acknowledge that protecting each other means protecting ourselves, which is a reminder we all needed."

Regina's eyes can't meet either of theirs and Mal reaches for him, running her fingers through his sweaty hair.

"I could go weeks without eating, in the other world, it didn't matter. Here, with the little flame, a few hours pass and I'm miserable. I'm getting better, but centuries of habits are hard to break." She reaches for Regina's chin and lifts her eyes. "I will do my best to keep her safe, to keep myself well, but I need you, whole, and to I need to know that you trust us to defend you, when the time comes."

Turning to him, Mal smiles and her eyes are already bright with tears. "You, I just need, thief."

He kisses her belly again then crawls up to kiss her properly. "You've got me."

"I know."

Running his hand over her breasts, he waits for Regina to speak, and that is harder. She keeps staring at the soft swell of Mal's belly, worrying about the child beneath.

"You can't risk her for me," Regina says, sitting up. The mood shifts with her, growing tense for reasons far less enjoyable than pleasure.

Mal draws their joined hands to her belly, and reaches for Regina's other hand, bringing that one her chest. "Once she's here, our daughter will love you so fiercely that like Henry, or Lily, or Roland, she would risk herself in a heartbeat. That is terrifying. It's a fear that cuts through your very soul, and it's good, Regina. It's beautiful to love that deeply, to trust in the family around you to protect you."

Pulling back, Regina starts to move her hands and Robin adds his, entangling them all. "Trust us, because we love you,

"I know it's hard."

Regina shakes her head, and the first tear falls, cutting into his heart. "You don't know, neither of you. You love, you love so easily, and I-"

"Love more fiercely than anyone we know," Mal promises her. Sitting up, she draws all of their hands in, resting them on her belly. "Family changes everything, Regina it strips you bare and makes you so vulnerable, so soft. When I felt Lily, when I knew she was there, my life was brighter, and there's no one I would chose to protect that more than you, but protecting us means staying."

"Being with us," Robin adds. He smiles at her, wishing he could lift the burden of Regina's self-loathing. "Letting us have you, that protects us best of all."

Her throat's so tight that the word is nearly lost, but it's there. "Okay." Regina nods, wiping her tears uselessly against her shoulder. "Okay, you win."

"We win you," Robin says, leaning over to kiss her. "And that's a wondrous prize indeed."

Regina rests her forehead against his, breathing slowly, then she kisses Mal, lingering until tears shine on both of their faces.

"Okay," Mal echoes for her. Reaching around, she removes her bra, tossing it aside with the rest of their clothing. "Come here," she murmurs, welcoming Regina's mouth to her chest. This affection has always come easier to Regina, the physical ties building faster than the emotional ones.

Robin watches, listens to Mal's breathing soften, turn light and ethereal as Regina licks her way across her breasts. Even swollen, pale with faint blue veins growing darker, her breasts are beautiful. He'd envy Regina's position more if he wasn't lower, closer to her thighs and better positioned to lick his way upwards.

He's gentle, leading with his hand before using his mouth, taking his time to lavish the smooth skin as he follows the heat.

Kissing her belly, Regina sighs, pausing and biting her own lip. Robin watches Maleficent's smile shine. Regina whispers to the baby, words of encouragement, of unfettered affection, and watching her and Mal kiss after that makes a heat blossom in his chest. This baby is a tentative, demanding, beautiful gift, and all of them will guide her into the world. She will be loved beyond reason, as all children should be.

He kisses Mal's thigh one last time before lowering his mouth to her entrance, guiding the wetness of her arousal up towards her clit. His mouth sends a shudder through her body and Regina catches her, kissing her, whispering gentle promises. Using his tongue, he chases Mal's breathing, working her up before he slips his fingers inside. She's so wet that he could be rough, thrust deep, but he's slow, even cautious and Regina maintains that gentleness.

Orgasm finds her with a sigh and a sob, not a cry, and he licks her just over the edge before pulling around, crawling up to wrap his steady body around her trembling one.

With Mal between them, he and Regina settl into the bed, sweat-sticky skin melding together. He plays with their hair, running his fingers through it. Regina's eyes shut and perhaps she's asleep, but they open again, both patient and afraid.

"We can do this," he reminds her.

Mal turns to her side, kissing Regina and holding her precious face close. "We're stronger together, even you, dear."

Resting his arm over both of them, he smiles at the lazy sun while it pours over like honey. "I don't know what it's like to have magic," he says, propping himself up on an arm. "But I imagine, on the very best days, this is what it feels like."

Turning her head to him, Mal beams. "Only the very best days," she agrees. "Then it's like being home."

Regina again looks at the baby, and sits up long enough to kiss their future hello. "Together," she finishes simply. "We can do this together."


End file.
